The present invention relates to a 3-dimensional operation input apparatus for operating a GUI (Graphical User Interface), a control apparatus for controlling the GUI in accordance with operational information, a control system including those apparatuses, a control method, and a handheld apparatus.
Pointing devices, particularly a mouse and a touchpad, are used as controllers for GUIs widely used in PCs (Personal Computers). Not just as HIs (Human Interfaces) of PCs as in related art, the GUIs are now starting to be used as an interface for AV equipment and game devices used in living rooms etc. with, for example, televisions as image media. Various pointing devices that a user is capable of operating 3-dimensionally are proposed as controllers for the GUIs of this type (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Patent Document 1 discloses an input apparatus including angular velocity gyroscopes of two axes, that is, two angular velocity sensors. Each angular velocity sensor is a vibration-type angular velocity sensor. For example, upon application of an angular velocity with respect to a vibrating body piezoelectrically vibrating at a resonance frequency, Coriolis force is generated in a direction orthogonal to a vibration direction of the vibrating body. The Coriolis force is in proportion to the angular velocity, so detection of the Coriolis force leads to detection of the angular velocity. The input apparatus of Patent Document 1 detects angular velocities about two orthogonal axes by the angular velocity sensors, generates, in accordance with the angular velocities, a signal as positional information of a cursor or the like displayed by a display means, and transmits it to a control apparatus.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-56743 (paragraphs [0030] and [0031], FIG. 3)    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 3,264,291 (paragraphs [0062] and [0063])
Since, in actuality, the 3-dimensional operation input apparatus of this type is moved 3-dimensionally, a frequency of a movement of the 3-dimensional operation input apparatus including a movement of the 3-dimensional operation input apparatus unintended by a user is considered to be higher than that of a mouse that is moved within a 2-dimensional plane, for example. Therefore, there are cases where a user wishes to stop the movement of the pointer when not intending to move the input apparatus.
For example, in a case where the 3-dimensional operation input apparatus is used like a laser pointer in a presentation, if the pointer moves even when unintended by the user, people viewing a screen may find it visually bothersome. Not just in presentations but also when a moving image or a still image is displayed on a screen, for example, the visual botheration becomes prominent.
For solving the problems as described above, Patent Document 2 discloses processing in which, while an enter operation is being made by a pointing device (remote commander), that is, while a button is being pressed, a pointer is not moved. However, because it is difficult to make a distinction between an action that uses a movement of a hand of a user for arbitrarily moving a pointer and an action of pressing a button for stopping the movement of the pointer, the user is easily confused.
In view of the circumstances described above, there is a need is to provide an input apparatus, a control apparatus, a control system, a control method, and a handheld apparatus with which a movement of a pointer on a screen can be stopped, for example, with a simple operation or without a user being aware of the operation.